Federal Lands Vegetation Management Protocol – Vote Passed (300-118, 13 Not Voting)Passage of the bill would allow utilities to submit long-term plans to the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management for advance approval of vegetation management and other maintenance activities on electricity right-of-ways on federal lands.Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester voted NO

Surface Water Storage Permitting – Vote Passed (233-180, 18 Not Voting)Passage of the bill would establish the Bureau of Reclamation in the Interior Department as the lead agency for the coordination of all reviews, analyses, opinions, statements, permits, licenses or other approvals or decisions required by federal law in order to construct new or expanded surface water storage projects on federal lands.Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester voted NO

State Coordinated Temporary Employment Subsidies – Vote Passed (377-34, 20 Not Voting)Passage of the bill would authorize state demonstration projects within the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program to temporarily subsidize employment for program beneficiaries with willing employers and would require $100 million in existing TANF funding must be used for grants to states to implement such programs.Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester voted YES

Upcoming Votes

Nomination of Kristine Svinicki to be a Member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission – PN561The Senate will vote on the nomination of Kristine Svinicki to be a member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Trumpcare – HR1628
The Senate will vote on an amendment to the House-passed bill that would adjust health insurance tax credits for income and geography beginning in 2020. The credits would be available for people with income of up to 350 percent of the federal poverty level. The Senate version also would allow marketplace insurers to cover fewer medical costs for consumers than under the 2010 health care law. It also would start phasing out higher payments for the Medicaid expansion under the 2010 law in 2021 with the phase-out being complete by 2024.

Medical Malpractice Lawsuits – HR1215
The bill would place limits on medical malpractice lawsuits involving health coverage provided in whole or in part via a federal program or subsidy by limiting to $250,000 the amount of non-economic damages that can be awarded and creating a 3-year statute of limitations for initiating such lawsuits.

Defund Sanctuary Cities – HR3003The bill would prohibit state and local governments or officials from restricting the ability of local law enforcement or other entities to comply with federal immigration laws and help federal authorities in the enforcement of those laws, and it would block certain federal funding for state and local governments that fail to comply.

Prison Sentences for Deported Criminal Aliens Who Return – HR3004The bill would increase possible federal prison sentences for unauthorized immigrants with criminal histories who were deported from the United States or otherwise denied entry, but who nonetheless illegally return.